IBF super featherweight champion Joe Cordina says he’d like to face Shakur Stevenson, Leigh Wood, or WBC 130-lb champ O’Shaquie Foster next after his title defense against #9 Edward Vazquez this Saturday night, November 4th, on DAZN at the Casino de Monte Carlo Salle Medecin, Monte Carlo.
(Photo credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
The chances of Shakur ever fighting Cordina are probably less than zero because there’s no gain for the New Jersey native to fight him.
We saw Cordina’s level, or lack thereof, when he struggled in his last fight, barely beating Shavkat Rakhimov by a twelve round split decision. That guy was Cordina’s level, and he’s not in the same universe as Shakur or Foster, for that matter.
Cordina is a good local lad, but you can’t plug him in with the likes of Shakur, Foster, or Emanuel Navarrete and expect him to hold his own against those talents. He’ll probably come out on top against Edward Vazquez this Saturday, but that’s about it.
If Eddie Hearn thought there was any possibility of Cordina losing to Vazquez, he wouldn’t have made the fight, period.
Cordina (16-0, 9 KOs) is unlikely to get a fight with Shakur because it’s not one that his promoters at Top Rank would be interested in because he’s not well known in the U.S.
Indeed, apart from the ultra-hardcore boxing fans, the 31-year-old Cordina is an unknown to American fans, and that’s not going to change a whole lot after his fight against fringe contender Edward Vazquez this Saturday night.
Cordina seemed to be a little annoyed reacting to being told that the Brit Leigh Wood is interested in facing WBO super featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete instead of him in his first fight at 130.
He feels that a fight with the Top Rank-promoted Navarrete will be a harder one to make because he’s with a different promotional company and fights on a different network. Cordina & Wood are both with Matchroom Boxing and fight on DAZN.
For Wood to want to fight Navarrete, he’s obviously looking at impressing fans worldwide because the Mexican star is a bigger name globally than Cordina, who is locally known and arguably not that popular, even in the UK.
O’Shaquie Foster mentioned that Cordina isn’t well known in the States, and he’s right. Cordina, however, feels that he’s got a larger following on social media than Foster, which isn’t saying much because O’Shaquie isn’t very popular in the U.S. His fight with Rocky Hernandez last week got zero attention from American fans, even though it was an entertaining one.
“It’s not disrespectful because maybe he wants to get a belt and try and come with a unification,” said Joe Cordina to iFL TV when asked about his thoughts on Leigh Wood moving up to super featherweight and saying he wants to challenge WBO champion Emanuel Navarrete rather than him.
“You’ve moved up, and you’re trying to make a Navarrete fight with someone with a different promotion [Top Rank]. If you want a belt at the weight I am [super featherweight], I believe I’m the best fighter in our division. There’s a belt [IBF 130-lb] in your own stable, so why don’t make it?” said Cordina about Leigh Wood not being interested in fighting him.
“Navarrete isn’t going to come to the City Ground [Notthingham, England, the hometown of Wood]. I’ll come, but the money has to be very, very, very, very good because I’m the champion. At the time, I’d like it to be in Cardiff if that can’t be made or if a deal can’t be made, it can’t be made.
“I don’t see it as disrespect [from Leigh Wood]. Why would you go there [to the U.S. to challenge WBO champion Navarrete] when you have one on your doorstep?
“Yeah, it’s possible, but the money would have to be right,” said Cordina when told that Eddie Hearn would like for him to face WBC super featherweight champion O’Shaquie Foster in Las Vegas next year.
“It’s a different ball game. I tried to make that fight for the summer, and I even went into his [Hearn] office and was trying to put it on him for it. He was like, ‘Oh, Joe, there’s no money to be made. No one really knows him [Foster] there or here. So that fight can’t be made.’
“I know it’s a business, and there are a lot more things that go on behind the scenes that need to be looked at and assessed before anything, but what’s the difference in four months? There’s no difference. So, you haven’t done anything spectacular in those four months.
“I saw an interview the other day with him saying no one knows me in America,” said Cordina about Foster, stating that he’s an unknown in the States. “Mate, I’ve got more American followers on Twitter than he has followers.
“Don’t get me wrong. It’s not about that, but you’re going on about followers and all that stuff. Listen, it doesn’t even compare. You’ve got arguably one of the best fighters on the planet, Shakur Stevenson, calling me out. So, don’t tell me no one knows me over there [the U.S].
“I’d love it,” said Cordina when asked if he’d like to fight Shakur. “The thing is, I want to test myself against the best. I’m only going to have this fight [Vazquez] and one other one at super feather. So that’s why I need Navarrete or Leigh Wood. Then, after that, I’m going to move up.
“I’d love that fight. If you want to be great, you have to dare to be great, and I’m a fan of his,” said Cordina about wanting to fight Shakur Stevenson. “I think the last time we were calling each other out on Twitter and all that stuff. He might think it was a bit disrespectful.
“I wasn’t disrespectful, I wasn’t disrespecting him, but he’s a fighter. I’m a fan of his. He’s a great fighter. I’d love to jump in the ring and share the ring with him,” said Cordina about Stevenson.
